1. Home
  2. Articles & Research
  3. Articles

Articles

[title_1]
Where everybody is above average
   September 28, 2011

In Garrison Keillor’s mythical home town of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average.  In terms of where the college-educated live, there are a few Lake Wobegons, and then there is everywhere else. Read more
[title_1]
Find true independence with streetcars, not freeways
   September 20, 2011

A rare joy in Charlotte is being able to live a compact, transit-supported lifestyle, where soul-sapping commuter journeys on interstates or arterial highways can be avoided. Now that I work in UNC Charlotte’s new Center City Building, I can walk to the light rail station, catch the train and walk two blocks to my office. But I get shocked out of my complacency when I have to take the... Read more
[title_1]
New reality: the rise of high-skilled immigrants
   September 15, 2011

When you think of an immigrant, what comes to mind: the person who helped build your house, or the physician discussing your treatment plan?  New research finds just as many highly skilled working-age immigrants living in the United States as low-skilled ones, with the growth rate of more educated arrivals now outpacing that of immigrants with little education. Read more
[title_1]
Stormy Septembers in the Piedmont
   September 15, 2011
Ruth Ann Grissom
The Atlantic hurricane season spans June through November, but North Carolina typically sees some of the worst storms in September, and we sometimes experience their devastation here in the Piedmont. I managed to dodge hurricanes Hugo and Fran, but the Uwharries weren't so lucky. Read more
[title_1]
Assessing our learning curve 10 years after 9/11
   September 8, 2011

Cindy Combs
If we want to assess how well we have learned about the threat of terrorism we need to look back over a decade. But we also need to look at our world today, and we must look to the future to decide how high the cost of failure – or success – could be. Read more
[title_1]
At long last, a new park uptown
   September 8, 2011
Mary Newsom
It took years, multiple political strategies, a bond vote, patience, weathering a brutal and ongoing economic downturn, more patience, and – finally – a multimedia event under a tent on a hot asphalt parking lot. But last Friday, ground was broken for a new uptown park. Read more
[title_1]
Avoiding the tomato-industrial complex
   August 31, 2011
Ruth Ann Grissom
This time of year, I’m trying to get my fill of fresh tomatoes from the farmers market and my parents’ garden in the Uwharries.  As fall approaches, I start to crave heartier food and switch to recipes that call for canned tomatoes. Read more
[title_1]
The highs and lows of high school graduation rates
   August 24, 2011

Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools have some of the region's highest graduation rates. They also have some of the lowest.  A look at recently released public high school graduation rates for North Carolina shows a wide disparity in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Yet CMS as a whole, compared to other systems in the region, has the lowest overall graduation rate, 72.2 percent.The new data... Read more
[title_1]
Tired of watering? Xeriscape.
   August 17, 2011
Ruth Ann Grissom
Despite recent rains, the Uwharries have experienced abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions for much of the summer.  This isn’t unusual for our region.  According to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council, our conditions ranged from abnormally dry to extreme drought in four of the past five summers.      All those days in the upper 90s and... Read more
[title_1]
N.C.'s ‘big 15’ counties show urban heft in a changing state
   August 16, 2011
Angelique Gaines
Ferrel Guillory

Over the past four decades, North Carolina has grown from a state of 5.08 million to 9.54 million people.  Along with that near-doubling in population has come a decisive shift in the state’s societal landscape. Once a spread-out state of small farms, small factories and small cities and towns, it is increasingly defined and driven by a metropolitan economy and culture. A robust “...

Read more